The federal Department of Veterans Affairs announced Wednesday it will cover the costs of assisted reproductive technology because of service-related injuries.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., championed the expanded coverage, which begins Thursday, by spotlighting the severe injuries of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that left them unable to conceive naturally.

Many of these injuries resulted from buried bombs that exploded as troops were on ground patrols. The risks were so serious that the Army developed a protective Kevlar “diaper” worn outside the uniform to help prevent such wounds.